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The Arepa (ə-‘rā-pə) is perhaps the most representative element in Venezuelan cuisine. The arepa is multipurpose as it is used as an appetizer, a side dish or a main dish. Arepas can be prepared for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. The arepa varies in cooking technique, main ingredient, color and filling depending on the region of the country where its prepared.

The main ingredient for arepas in its basic form is corn. In the beginning, corn was grinded using a mortar to create the corn meal mix to make arepas. Then came the pre-cooked version of the corn meal, which made the whole process much easier. The most common and internationally recognized brand of Venezuelan pre-cooked white corn meal is the P.A.N. brand, which we simply call “Harina PAN” (PAN flour). GOYA makes another version called “Masarepa”. Another option is MASECA, which makes “Masa Instantanea de Maíz” (Instant corn masa flour).

Harina PAN

Maseca can probably be found either in the flour isle or the ethnic/Mexican food isle at any supermarket. The Goya version, Masarepa, would most likely only be found in Latin American or Mexican mini markets. Harina PAN, unfortunately, can only be found in supermarkets that are near a big population of Venezuelans in the US (like Weston, Florida); in Venezuelan supermarkets or through the Internet. However, I do have to say I found Harina PAN in a little Mexican market located on Eastern Boulevard in Montgomery, Alabama. Perhaps you guys can share any other places you have found Harina PAN. Harina PAN can be found online too, just Google it and several online stores that deliver through the US will come up. I found this one.

The name for the Arepa came from the word “erepa”, which in the native Indian tribe’s dialect of the Cumanagoto People means “corn”. These “Cumanagotos” made arepas in a disk shaped form (much like other corn mix products like Cachapas or tortillas, and even their cooking tools like the budare or comal) to worship the sun and the moon.

Now, arepas are so varied in their aspects that it is good to mention some of the most common ones. One of my favorites, the sweet one, “Arepa Dulce” or “Arepa de Anís”, has sugar and “Anís” (Anise or Pimpinella Anisum – seeds), it is very thin and when fried one side will end up like a bubble separating the skin from the inside dough, great with a very salty cheese. Arepas can be baked, grilled, fried or boiled. With technology now we have what I call the “Toasted Arepa” which is created very easily with the “Tostiarepa” a toaster made specifically to make arepas. Yes, it makes arepas even easier to make than they already are, but to me, they come out very “fat” and the crust could be sometimes too crispy. Only one of these will fill you up quickly. Keep an eye out for arepa recipe coming soon.

Different Arepas

¡Buen Provecho!

UPDATED (Where to Buy Harina PAN in Montgomery, Alabama): Yesterday I was shopping at the Winn Dixie on Eastern Boulevard & Vaughn Road in Montgomery, Alabama and I happened to see Harina PAN on the International Food isle, next to the Mexican products. I was looking for the expiration date on the package and I noticed right underneath the expiration date stamp it states “Imported by Goya Foods Inc”. It is made by Empresas Polar (Large Venezuelan Company), but these ones I found where produced in the Alimentos Polar headquarters in Colombia. Also states “Very low gluten”, which was not the case in the packages being imported from Venezuela. Just though I’d let you know what I found. Each package cost $3.29. *I think maybe Goya will start to import this product to other locations soon, and hopefully on their website as well.

Where to Buy Harina PAN in Montgomery, AL

UPDATED (Where to Buy Harina PAN in Omaha, Nebraska): You can buy Venezuelan Harina P.A.N. at the Supermercado Nuestra Familia on the NE corner of 36th St. and Q St. in Omaha, Nebraska. Here’s the link to their website, and a photo:

Where To Buy Harina PAN in Omaha, NE

UPDATE (Harina P. A. N., Gluten and GMO): There have been a lot of responses to this post and questions regarding wether Harina P. A. N. contains gluten and if it is elaborated with Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO). I took it upon myself to contact Empresas Polar/Alimentos Polar (the company responsible for creating and distributing Harina P. A. N.), and I have asked them these questions. I received an answer and what they said was that as you can see in all the Harina P. A. N. packages in circulation today, they have added de disclaimer which states that “it may contain traces of wheat and/or oats”. This means that the corn flours and the flour mixes made under the P. A. N. brand may contain traces of gluten because it is elaborated in a factory where other cereals like oatmeal and wheat are processed. The Harina P. A. N. made for exporting (which would be the one found anywhere else other than Venezuela), are elaborated in their factories in Colombia, where they process other cereals as well, and thus, just like the Venezuelan product, it is NOT GLUTEN FREE. They explained that they are NOT over the 100 milligrams of gluten per kilograms of the product, but they are also not under the 20 milligrams per kilograms, and that is why they have to add the disclaimer.
Furthermore, they have informed me that Harina P. A. N. produced in Colombia and exported to many other countries, is produced with corn that IS GENETICALLY MODIFIED, which has been approved in Europe and the United States. They also explain that the genetic modifications in the corn are so that they don’t waste crops due to bugs and such, and also to increment the yield in the crop of the corn. They also explained that te international food security agencies responsible for evaluating the risks in food products, have established that those crops do no represent any harm whatsoever to your health and they are as safe as corn that has not been genetically modified.
I have to say that this information was given to me by Empresas Polar, and that it is ultimately up to you to decide wether you wish to consume or if it is safe for you to consume Harina P. A. N. which may contain traces of gluten and that is fabricated with genetically modified corn.

78 Responses to “La Arepa”

I found Harina P.A.N. in one Fairway Market here in Victoria, BC, and was SO excited to not have to travel to Vancouver for it anymore! It’s worth looking around, you never know where you’re going to find it 😉
P.S. I also found Malta Maltin Polar in the same store!

WOW Malta !?!? I have found malta even at the Maxwell Air Force Base’s Commissary here in Montgomery, Alabama, but it’s not Maltin Polar :(… I think it’s Goya… It is great to find Venezuelan products when you least expect it 🙂

Thank you for visiting the blog and thank you for your question… On the comments below, you can see that rose said the following:

“You can find harina pan in Vancouver, bc very close to my home ^^ there’s also a small food store on Fraser and 48th that sells specifically Venezuelan find and has Malta polar ^^ I missed the taste of that drink for so long bad have finally found it :)”

She did not specifically said where in Vancouver, but I assume the other location must be close by as well. Please report back if you do find it in Vancouver and where exactly you found it.

Daniel, I’m sorry I’m not in BC anymore, but you should try Mexican food stores, they usually carry products like Harina P.A.N. Other options are some Safeway and Walmart locations. Good luck with your search!

Before the package stated “Gluten Free”, and those last packages I had bought DIDN’t state it, so I really couldn’t tell you if it is Gluten Free or not. Maybe some are and some aren’t. I just moved back down to South Florida and will probably update this post with locations to buy Harina PAN down here. I will go purchase and research as soon as I get setled in, and maybe I’ll ask the local supermarkets if they know about the Gluten Free situation.

I thinkmthe formulation changed alightly since they moved production out of Venezuela and into Colombia and Texas. My arepas are also gooey-er than they used to be. I think maybe it is a finer grind that the Venezuelan one. Maybe the blades on their original equipment was slightly ground down with use and Colombia and Texas had brand new equipmen?

Thank you for your reply and thank you for visiting the blog. That is an interesting theory. I do think that obviously changing the production from one country to another would definitely have some sort of impact on the product itself. Whether it comes from the raw ingredients, the different laws and regulations in each country, and the different type or status of machinery.

You can find harina pan in Vancouver, bc very close to my home ^^ there’s also a small food store on Fraser and 48th that sells specifically Venezuelan find and has Malta polar ^^ I missed the taste of that drink for so long bad have finally found it 🙂

I got a bag of this at The Oriental Market on Western Blvd. in Jacksonville, NC. One side of the store is Oriental foods and the other side is Latin/Spanish foods. On the bag the best before date is Sep 13 11. Does this mean Sep 13 2011 or Sep 2013, and 11 is the day? See what I mean?? For some reason I thought they switched the numbers. Please help me out 🙂 🙂 🙂 Is it good or not.? ? 🙂 🙂 🙂

PAN Harina is available in Calgary, Alberta at Unimarket. There’s a few locations I believe but I found it at the one on 50th Ave SW. It’s even on sale right now for $2.50 a bag (if you buy in groups of two I think).

Thank you for visiting my blog, and thank you for the comment. That is an excellent question.

The website defines organic as “produce and other ingredients [that] are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation.”

Way back in the day, Arepas were made from scratch. Meaning people would boil the corn, then peal it, and soften it. They would wash it really well and remove the corn husk. They would grind the corn in the grinder and thus obtained the most organic and raw version of “Harina P.A.N.”

Then, when Empresas Polar’s engineers invented, commercialized and patented a new way to create the dough to make Arepas (by creating Harina P.A.N) the process was simpler, faster, and mass produced. It was probably organic and gluten free as well. The Harina P.A.N. package used to state that it was Gluten Free. However, now Empresas Polar has other products that contain wheat, oats, and/or soy. Therefore, their package states “May contain traces of Wheat, Oats, and/or Soy.”

They have also refined and enriched their dehydrated precooked white cornmeal, by adding ingredients like iron, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, and folic acid.

Iron is good for you, but not too much iron (one serving of Harina P.A.N -3 tbsp- has 10% of your daily value).

Niacin is Vitamin B3, which is good for you; it aids in the formation of red blood cells. It also lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol and increases HDL (good) cholesterol. Also know as niacin, nicotinic acid, niacinimide, nicotinic.

Thiamin is Vitamin B1, which is a safe vitamin; it adds minute amounts of nitrate.

Riboflavin is Vitamin B2, which metabolizes fat and proteins and produces enzymes essential for transporting oxygen to cells.

Finally, Folic Acid is a synthetic version of the b vitamin folate. This b vitamin is essential for the development of red blood cells and nucleic acids in the body.

Organic products really vary from store to store, and especially from country to country. I think it is up to you what you consume and introduce to your body.

Harina PAN is made out of corn, but the process is complex and mass produced in a factory. But it is not the worst product out there. I really think it is up to you to decide if it is organic enough for you or not 😉

Although the information hereabove is useful. I need to inform you that harina pan is made of genetically modified corn imported from the U.S. Since the late 90’s. Google it to see for yourself. Furthermore in Europe there is a law stating that when a product has GMO or additives it should be mentioned on the package. Great was my surprise when I saw that it was indeed a GMO product. I am now looking for an organic solution but the harina pan is not what it was when I was a child and my venezuelan mom made the arepas for me.

Thank you for visiting the blog and for sharing the information with the rest of us. Do you happen to have a link to share with us in regards to this information? I know that the Harina P.A.N. may be produced in different locations and distributed through different companies as a partnership with Empresas Polar. Therefore I believe that each location that imports Harina PAN may receive different ingredients in the product. That is why I found some packages were Gluten Free and some were not. Maybe it is the same case for the genetically modified corn.

I think they may just put the warning for legal purposes- they don’t want to get sued if someone has a serious allergic reaction. They also probably have started producing other products in their facilities making the labeling necessary. I am also very curious if their corn is indeed GMO, I am living in Colombia and I make and eat arepas made from this corn flour quite frequently. I don’t want to be eating GMO foods.

Thank you for visiting the blog and for your comment. I agree that they may just put the warning on the label for legal purposes, but if you are in fact allergic you definitely don’t want to take the chance of there actually being gluten traces on the product. If you are not allergic, just on a gluten-free diet for other reasons, like a personal lifestyle choice, you can take the risk, because gluten is not an actual ingredient, and there is a very small chance that there are actually traces of gluten in any given package.

As far as the corn used being GMO, I still haven’t found a definitive answer. However, due to the large amount of readers commenting on it here on my blog and being concerned about it, I have taken it upon myself to do some research and I have contacted the company (Empresas Polar) and I have asked them to clarify these questions for us.

There are other types of arepas that are made without the pre-cooked ‘Harina’. What do you mean when you say ‘masa’? Yes, people used to go through the whole process of boiling, softening and milling the corn, but thanks to Harina P.A.N., we don’t have to do that anymore. What is it that you are interested in? Maybe I can help you further if I know the reasoning behind your question. Thank you for stopping by, and for your comment.

We’ve been using instant (Mexican) masa with our arepa-maker to no ill effect. The reasoning is that if you don’t have a Venezuelan population, you may only have Mexican products available at the grocery within a reasonable driving distance. The brand isn’t Maseca, but it’s probably the same thing as the Maseca brand.

Thank you for your visit and for your comment. Do you remember the name of the brand of this Mexican instant masa? Also, I have never tried any other brand than Harina Pan, but I wonder if the other brands are similar, and if they differ in any way, and does it taste the same?

Thank you for following and visiting the blog, and thank you for your comment. Please report back with your findings on your Harina P.A.N. quest in Hollywood. I have seen Toddy in local (South Florida) Venezuelan restaurants. They serve it as a drink option, and they also sell Toddy cans. Maybe if you have a relative in south florida they can send you some 😉 You can try to find it online, too.

Thank you for visiting the blog, and thank you very much for your information on where to buy Harina P.A.N. in the UK… could you please specify where in the UK is this “Las Iguanas Restaurant” for our readers?

Umm ladies & gents… Corn is always gluten free 🙂 Unless additives are represent, corn anything should be gf. We have just become spoiled with labels anymore. An advertising technique commonly used nowadays: mark “gluten free” on products that have never and will never have gluten lol

Thank you for your comment and for sharing the link. You are right, corn will always be gluten free. However, that doesn’t mean that Harina P.A.n. is gluten free. It depends on where is processed. I believe ever since the Polar company started making other products with other ingredients besides corn, they have removed the ‘gluten free’ label on their packaging, because now their facilities have processed other products with gluten and there might be traces of gluten in the Harina P.A.N. Just like some other products write on their labels that it has been produced at a factory where there is peanuts and wheat.

I’m really glad I came across this blog. I live in Concord, NH and the Market Basket here sells Harina P.A.N. In Manchester, NH the Hannaford grocery store on Hanover Street sells it. There used to be some latin markets on Union Street that sold it also, but I don’t know if they’re still open. My dad is Venezuelan, and has only ever used Harina P.A.N. We try to eat as naturally/organically as we can afford, and so I’ve been meaning to look up and see if Harina P.A.N. is made out of GMO corn. And I’ve found my answers here on this blog, so thank you. Now my question is, what can I use instead? When I was at Hannaford today, I saw that Bob’s Red Mill Brand has a corn flour product and I wondered if I could use that? I guess I’m going to have to buy a bag and try it out. I can come back here and update whether or not it works well.

Thank you for visiting the blog, and thank you for your comment. I am glad it helped. Thank you also for posting the names of the markets in which to find Harina P.A. N. in/near Concord, NH and Manchester, NH.

Please report back to us and let us know how the other product worked out for you as a substitute for Harina P. A. N. with GMO corn.

thank u for your blog. im wondering now: im currently living in europe and here we can find the label which says it contains GMO, but the package of the flour i can get in colombia doesn’t say anything about GMO, but the adresss company shows that is located in colombia…. what do you think? in colombia they dont show the gmo label or in colombia is pure corn and the gmo is just for exportation ??

I don’t believe they’re required to label GMO’s in Columbia. I it was required to label in the States! I believe the corn flour from Columbia is GMO, but I’m not sure if the corn flour from Venezuela is.

Thank you for visiting the blog, and thank you for your reply. If you read again the very last paragraph of this post, the UPDATE (Harina P. A. N., Gluten and GMO)… you can infer from what the Polar company replied to me, that in fact all Harina P.A.N. is GMO and it is also NOT GLUTEN FREE, unless otherwise stated in the package. I think no matter where they produce it, and no matter if it’s for exporting or distributing within Colombia, they get their corn from the same location, and that corn is GMO. Maybe they don’t HAVE to put that on the package in Colombia, but they DO have to do it for other countries.

I appreciate you finding out about gluten and GMO in harina PAN. I am disappointed that the company has decided to use GMOs. The emerging research does not support the optimistic evaluation by the international food security agencies they refer to. I will not be risking my good health by using this product.

Thank you for visiting the blog and thank you for your comment. I am glad you found the post and information useful. I am sorry that you will no longer consume Harina PAN, but I understand your decision.

Thank you for visiting the blog and thank you for your comment. I am not 100% sure about the exact differences, as I do not know a lot about cornmeal and the product process… However, one of the main differences is the color and the taste. The original Harina Pan is white in color, and as far as taste, I think i can say it tastes somewhat like grits, to put it in familiar terms. The cornmeal has a taste more like corn, and it’s yellow… tastes more like corn bread. The Harina Pan is made with white boiled, dried and finely ground corn (that is why it says it’s pre-cooked). The cornmeal is dried yellow corn. Even though the description of both products is really pretty much the same (dried and ground corn), the taste is very different. I think the cornmeal still has a bit of sweetness, that the Harina Pan doesn’t. I hope that helps.

A local Toronto restaurant told me there pan harina was coming from Texas – they thought it was gluten free but then couldn’t confirm it either way. Tried online sources to confirm – but I have had no luck.

My most recent package of Harina PAN was i deed made in Texas. I am sad to say it is not the same as the original. The flour is too fine and arepas do not come out the same. I will be looking for an alternative.

My most recent package of Harina PAN was i deed made in Texas. I am sad to say it is not the same as the original. The flour is too fine and arepas do not come out the same. I will be looking for an alternative.

Thank you for visiting the Blog, and thank you for your comment. I truly don’t think I would notice any differences in the Haring PAN here in the US, versus the Harina PAN in Venezuela, since I have been eating the US one for over 10 years now. But I see your point. Let us know if you find an alternative.

I’ve been buying Harina PAN in the US for over 10 years myself. I’m pretty sure that the product we were buying up until late 2015 or early 2016 was imported from Venezuela and had a grainier texture. I’ll be traveling to Colombia this summer and will try to get some from the Colombian factory which I think was set up at the same time as the Texas plant.

Hello, thank you for this article. I’ve been using PAN for quite a while 😦 I didn’t notice until I saw it’s flour from the USA then I started to wander :(. Do you have any suggestions for non-gmo corn flour to make arepas with? Hope to see a response soon, many thanks in advance.

Thank you for visiting the blog, and thank you for your question/comment. I have personally not tried any other brand aside from Harina P.A.N. to make arepas.

I would certainly visit any local organic markets to check out their selection and ask them if they can recommend one in particular. I have seen other organic brands that say gluten free like Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Grain Corn Flour, and the Hodgson Mill Old Fashioned 100% Stone Ground All Natural White Corn Meal which has the Non-GMO Verified project logo on their website.

Again, these are just a few I have seen, but I have not personally tried them and wouldn’t know if there is any difference in taste or quality.

If you do try any others, please visit back and let us know what you though.

I have been using Gold Mine Organic Masa Harina Corn Flour, White, 2 Pound that I purchase from Amazon. I do the subscribe & save and it’s a little cheaper. It is a little more yellow in color, but the consistency I find to be the same, and there is a little more flavor than you’ll find with the traditional corn flour.